Dancing Skeleton

I'm debating on the final details of my Project One Domane.

I'm not sure if I am going to choose carbon bars over aluminum.
I do like the features of the carbon bars, mainly the ability to have the cables tuck in so that they don't produce a bump under the tape.
My concern is that carbon bars can break at the most inopportune time, with catastrophic results.
I know that aluminum bars can break as well (recent thread), but I'm worried that carbon is more likely let go without warning.
I've read that carbon bars can be affected by a simple parking lot tip-over (without being on the bike), whereas aluminum would be OK.
Lastly, the carbon bars are ~$200 more, but this is not a huge factor, just one of being "smart" with my money (although a custom bike probably isn't too "smart" to begin with). Is the difference in ride quality worth the extra expense?

Opinions please.

Thanks

WhyFi

They are dangerously dangerous. Prone to both implosion and asplosion.

datlas 

I believe that the risk is quite low, unless you ride them after a crash and don't inspect them carefully for damage.

However, the weight savings is often marginal. Personally, I avoid CF in stems and bars.

But I suspect you will do fine if you want them. Remember to inspect very carefully after a crash, which probably involves unwrapping the bars etc.

catonec 

carbon in general is more susceptible to cracking and failure due to impact than alum, but its not crazy fragile like glass. They do make mountain bikes out of it.

Ive been riding cheap, chineese, ebay, knock-off, carbon bars ($60) for 3 years now. but then again I have not crashed nor let my bike tip over in a parking lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=xreZdUBqpJs

rangerdavid

No, they're fine. I'm over 200 lbs. and ride carbon 3T doric bars, stem and seatpost. No issues in almost three years now.

coasting 

I think that I would be to scared to really tighten the stem fully if I had carbon bars. Maybe slipping bars may be the outcome rather than exploding bars.

datlas 

Torque wrench is mandatory if you get one, btw.

catonec 

+1

coasting 

My aluminium bars slipped once when I was exerting enormous wattage. It scared the hell out of me.

rm -rf

I have round aluminum bars. Both the shifter and brake cables are routed to the bottom front of the bars. The cables fit right at my first finger joint when I'm gripping the top position. That's very comfortable. And I like the smooth curve on the back where my thumbs wrap around.

At the shifter, one of the two cables crosses over the bars just behind the hoods when it's routed to the front of the bars. To avoid a bump there, I filled in at the sides of the cable with a couple of layers of scrap pieces of old inner tube, held with electrical tape. Then there's no bump under the bar tape.

So cable grooves might not be necessary for you.

Carbon assembly paste would help to reduce the necessary torque if you get carbon bars. The paste really works.

danvuquoc

You can tighten them fully to the torque spec required. I hope you follow the same on your aluminum bars too, but if you mean that you crank them on there as tight as you can possibly can, you should stay away from working on bicycles, cars, and anything mechanical in general.

eja_ bottecchia

Yes to the torque wrench.

I have Deda carbon bars and stem, plus carbon seatposts, on the Bianchi and the Colnago. No problem at all.

coasting 

I built 3 bikes. Still alive...touch wood.

BykOfALesserGod

I've had the first gen Easton Monkey bars on my Mtn bike since the turn of the century held on by a Thomson stem. Now I understand that MTB bars are beefier than road bars but I think I can trust carbon bars if I wished to buy them.

WingSuit

I exerted enormous wattage once. In a dream. as for carbon bars, who cares if they are dangerous, they look cool as hell ....

popeye

We remember what you did at band camp.

Jed19

+1 on this post. The sentence in bold is where I'm at too.

WhyFi

Fixed.



Max torque spec is not always necessary to keep the bars from slipping. After getting a torque wrench, I found that my bars were 1 or 2 nm lower than specified max. No slippage problems whatsoever.

gc3

I know its just my imagination and wishful rationalization of my purchases, but....when I first switched to carbon bars, it really truly felt like I was getting more "vibration absorption" and higher comfort level with carbon. Do they make me any faster or stronger? Heck no. But I'm staying with carbon.

Dangerous? As already noted, not with torque wrench and carbon paste.

wphamilton

I asked a similar question on the forums some months ago although I didn't ask specifically about carbon bars. They did come up when I pressed a little for specific answers. The bottom line is the only difference is in style and weight, not a lot of weight by the time you're looking at carbon. Whether and how much vibration the carbon fiber handlebars absorb is disputed.

IFPCL

My boss was riding to work one day on a ~2 year old set of Easton carbon drops when one of the drops snapped and caused a crash, so I personally avoid carbon cockpits. There are plenty of horror stories out there about carbon but I'd bet that with proper care (don't drop your bike) there's not a terrible risk.

bsektzer

I wonder if there is any objective statistical evidence based on a large enough sample to be meaningful that carbon bars are any more prone to JRA failure than are alloy bars. If someone could point me to such a study, I'd really appreciate it.

In the meantime, every time this topic comes up it seems we get a lot of personal anecdotes one way or another but no real data. I've used both, taken the same care with both (yes, I own a torque wrench), and had zero issues with both. But that doesn't prove anything.

Mike F

I have so much stuff clamped to my bars (superdrive light, GoPro, garmin mount), that I take off and remove, it would only be a matter of time before I damage the carbon bars while in a hurry. I would love to get some but I know that when im in a hurry, shortcuts happen.

surgeonstone

Yes, they will kill you, they will break and you will die, be afraid, be very afraid.

RUOkie

Trust him. He's a doctor